Abstract

Comparative studies of the divergence of quantitative traits and neutral molecular markers, known as QST–FST comparisons, provide a means for researchers to distinguish between natural selection and genetic drift as causes of population differentiation in complex polygenic traits. The use of QST–FST comparisons has increased rapidly in the last few years, highlighting the utility of this approach for addressing a wide range of questions that are relevant to evolutionary and ecological genetics. These studies have also provided lessons for the design of future QST–FST comparisons. Methods based on the QST–FST approach could also be used to analyse various types of 'omics' data in new and revealing ways.